Iran has mobilized all resources to sell oil in 'grey market': State media

Published Sun, May 5 2019 5:53 AM EDT

A support vessel flying an Iranian national flag sails alongside the oil tanker 'Devon' as it prepares to transport crude oil to export markets in Bandar Abbas, Iran, on Friday, March 23, 2018.

Ali Mohammadi/Bloomberg via Getty Images

Iran has mobilized all its resources to sell oil in a "grey market", bypassing U.S. sanctions that Tehran sees as illegitimate, state media quoted Deputy Oil Minister Amir Hossein Zamaninia as saying on Sunday.

The United States told buyers of Iranian oil to stop purchases by May 1 or face sanctions, ending six months of waivers that had allowed Iran's biggest customers to import limited volumes.

"We have mobilized all of the country's resources and are selling oil in the 'grey market'," Zamaninia was quoted by state news agency IRNA as saying. "This is not smuggling. This is countering sanctions which we do not see as just or legitimate."